And the winner is...

As some of you know, I have been conducting an informal survey to determine the best apple for eating. While there were lots of good contestants, one eventually stood out.

I asked around for ideas from others, and Honeycrisp gathered a lot of support. And I did try many good Honeycrisp apples, which came in second overall. I also tried Ambrosia apples which were pretty good, although they didn't last long in season and I only saw them one place. Braeburn were ok, as were Fuji. I wasn't a fan of Jonathan. Granny Smith are by far the best, and the only ones I use, for cooking, but they sometimes give me a stomachache when eating.

Which leaves Gala. They had the best texture of any apples, and were sweet without being too sweet.

And there you have it.

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Christmas Tree

Well, inspired by Serena, I decided I should post some pictures of my Christmas tree too.

I finally got a tree topper this weekend. I haven't had one until this year. I remember we used to have this blue one on our trees when I was little, but I never knew what happened to it. I got a similar style for mine, but this one is reddish/purple with some silver scrollwork on it.

Most people who know me well, especially around Christmas time, know my love of Christmas ornaments. Here is a closeup of a few.

I will collect any ornament I think is cool, but there are several themes. I collect a lot of different birds - cardinals and flamingos are my favorites (although I don't have a lot of flamingos yet). I also collect a lot of fairy and angel ornaments - maybe I just like flying things.

I also collect a lot of fruit and vegetable ornaments too. You can kind of see the eggplant ornament in this photo.

Last year, I decided to collect the 12 days of christmas in ornaments. The above picture shows one of my 9 ladies dancing (the ballerina) and one of the 12 drummers drumming (you may not be able to see, but the tiny angel is playing a drum).

If anyone wants to help me, I have the hardest time finding the maids a milking and lords a leaping. I have 1 of each, but only 1. (maybe 2 lords) I am also looking for ideas for the golden rings. Geese are suprisingly hard to find too, since I can find almost every other kind of bird.

Anyway, I'm thinking I may start branching out to other decorations. It would be fun to get a train set up. Or other decorations around the house for future years. I have never really put lights up. I usually get a poinsettia or two - I love them - and I got a wreath last year. I think I want to wait until I have a house of my own though. Well see.

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Hype

One of the things that has recently bothered me is the whole Obama-Lincoln comparisons that have cropped up. They came up from time to time in the primaries and campaigns, and recently with the whole "Team of Rivals" cabinet. I don't know if this is coming from his people or the media (and the cynic in me wants to exclaim "what's the difference"), but its getting a little irritating because Obama isn't Lincoln and shouldn't try to be Lincoln. He has many gifts, is a very capable politician, and may become one of our greatest presidents, but he should try to do so on his own merits, not by becoming someone else.

This sort of thing isn't specific to Obama or even politics. The Republicans have been looking for the next Ronald Reagan since 1988. Every NBA draft talking heads on TV are looking for the next Michael Jordan.

The thing is, it is important to have good role models and people we want to emulate, whether in our chosed profession, or just in life. But, before we anoint someone as the heir to a previous great person, let them be themselves and make their own mark.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

I received an email today that informed me that Elder Wirthlin passed away on Monday. While he will me missed greatly by his family and the membership of the church, it is hard for me to be sad because I feel it is a cause to rejoice when any righteous, faithful servant of our Heavenly Father is called home.

I looked forward to his talks every conference. When I was a missionary, one of the qualities we were encouraged to develop was quiet dignity. Elder Wirthlin was one of the people who best represented this trait to me. In his quiet, understated way, he bore witness of the Savoir and testimony of His Plan of Happiness with great strength and power. I will miss hearing Elder Wirthlin each April and October, but his testimony will always be with me.

Restaurants

I think one of the biggest ways people who live in Chicago are spoiled is the wonderful restaurants. Whenever I visit home, whenever we go out to eat, most of the restaurants I went to growing up just aren't as good as I remember them.

This thought came to me when I was dragged to a Chinese Buffet back in Lafayette over Thanksgiving weekend. While the restaurant used to be better, it just wasn't very good and all I could think about were two better Chinese Restaurants and four better Thai restaurants I knew of in Chicago.

Pizza is similar, although we ordered from a different restaurant the last couple of times instead of Papa Johns. The place we ordered from was pretty good, but there are 3 different pizza places I order from here, depending on whether I want thin crust, pan crust, or stuffed.

That and there are wonderful Italian places everywhere, and I've been to several good Greek places. And I really don't go out looking for new places very often, but there are a lot of places I want to try.

Maybe I'm just being a little snobbish about all this. :)

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Dogs and Little Girls

It is always fun to go home for the weekend, but it was especially nice to go home for the holiday since my sisters Miranda and Gillian would be in town with their families. Although I try to call them occasionally, and we chat online more frequently, I don't get to see them very often. Modern communication technology is wonderful, but it doesn't completely replace seeing people in person.

I especially love getting to see and play with my nieces and nephews. Elayna especially is a lot bigger than the last time I saw her. I had a chance to watch her for a little bit on Friday afternoon and we had a fun game of catch with the dog.

When Miranda first arrived, she mentioned that Elayna was afraid of dogs, so I was curious to see how this would play out. Elayna found one of Xena's toys, and Xena found out that Elayna had it. I showed Elayna how to toss it and Xena would bring it back to us. However Xena, like most dogs I've seen, likes you to wrestle the ball from her instead of just dropping it. Elayna was having fun watching Xena chase the ball, but she was afraid to grab it the ball when Xena brought it back. She would squeal at the dog wanting her to drop it and would yell and point for me to grab it. I was greatly amused by this situation, but I would grab the ball and hand it to Elayna to toss again.

A few times the ball went under the couch and Xena wouldn't go for it because someone was sitting on it and blocking her. Elayna would go over and yell at the dog to go get it, and then try to get people to move so the dog would get the ball. A couple of times she even dove under there to get it herself.

Eventually, she was brave enough to get it from the dog herself, maybe because I stopped doing it to see if she would, although after a while Xena was more likely to drop it. I also discovered that the dog really needs her nails trimmed.

Wheel of Time

I have recently started to reread the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. These are some of my favorite books and the ones that got me interested in fantasy.

One thing I love about the books is the constant shifting of the point of view. The story is through the thoughts and eyes of the different characters, and this gives the reader the chance to see how different events and actions are seen by different characters.

What always strikes me is how narrow-minded many of the characters are. They often interpret events in a very self-centered manner, and often based on their own prejudices. Each time I see this it reminds me that I need to be more open-minded. That things that affect me are not necessarily done with intent to injure me or hurt me, that maybe they just occur for some other reason, and I'm just swept up because of my proximety to what's occuring.

Anyway, I'm only in the 3rd book, but its a fun read again, and I regret putting it off for so long to reread them all.

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Baseball

Yes, although I live in Chicago, I am a big St. Louis Cardinals fan. And I have no problem letting all my Chicago friends know that too. The biggest influence on me becoming a Cardinals fan is my grandmother. When I was about 7 or 8 years old and starting to show some interest in sports, she would always talk about the Cardinals and in our letters we would write about them to each other.

She was a big fan of Ozzie Smith because he did back flips on the field, although I think her favorite player overall was Pete Rose because he always ran hard to first base, even on walks. As I watched more baseball, I became a huge fan of Whiteyball, and I still miss the game of the 80s. Home runs are fun, but it was fun watching those speedy Cardinals teams of the 80s. With Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith on the basepaths, it wasn't a matter of if they were going to steal a base, but when. It seems like ages since I have seen a double steal, which is my favorite play in the sport (except maybe an unassisted triple play).

Both my Grandma and Grandpa influenced my interest in sports. New Year's Day is probably the day I miss Grandpa Leo the most because when we would visit over the holidays we would spend all day watching the bowl games. I would pick one team to root for (I usually hadn't heard of either team) and he would pick the other and we would watch the games. I can't remember if we kept a running score of who won the most.

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Bread of Life

I heard a speech about breadmaking today, and a comment by the speaker provided me with an image for life. The speaker made a comment that although it can seem like a long time to make bread, a lot of the time is spent waiting: either for the dough to rise, or the bread to bake.

At times in our life, we are seeking answers to questions, blessings, forgiveness, or any number of things. There is usually work that we have to put in to make this happen. To make bread, you have to mix the ingredients, knead the dough, and punch it down - and it is often important to follow these instructions exactly. If get the yeast to hot, it will kill it and your bread won't rise. When seeking answers or blessings, we also have to put in effort: study, prayer, and making changes to our lifestyle.

But just as important is the waiting. During the times we are waiting when making bread, important changes are taking place - the bread is rising or it is baking. Without these changes, the bread will either be solid as a brick, or just another lump of dough. Sometimes, in our lives, we need to wait or have patience for the blessings, answers, or changes we seek. Often, there is a transformation or a change in conditions that we don't see; however, the Lord is aware of these conditions, and even guiding them, so we can be made into what He wants us to be.

Although this understanding doesn't make it easier to have patience, it does help me to understand that as long as I do what I can and should do, the Lord will guide and take care of the rest to bring me the answers and blessings He has promised.

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Autumn

I love it each time a new season is ushered in. Fall is on its way, and I am excited. One of my favorite things about fall is the smells. It smells of musty leaves and smoke. I also love it later in October and November when it gets a little chillier and I go outside on a brisk morning and take a deep breath. The icy chill goes right through my lungs almost to the bones and makes me feel great to be alive.

It also has the feeling that play-time is over, which I surprisingly enjoy because I like to learn and Fall reminds me of going back to school; and now it seems to be the time when work picks up which is nice. I also love the changing colors of the trees, seeing my breath in the air on my walk to work in the morning, and the anticipation that Christmas is getting closer.

The only thing I miss is being on a college campus, because when there is a Saturday football game in town there is really no atmosphere quite like it. I will also miss the Feast of the Hunter's Moon this year as well to another conflict; it was one of my favorite things each year growing up in West Lafayette (although I never really made it every year then either). But, this is going to be a good Fall, I can tell.

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Rivers

I went on a bike tour of Chicago the other day and the guide mentioned the fact (if you haven't already heard it - it's only been brought up a thousand or so times since I moved to Chicago) that the Chicago River used to flow into Lake Michigan, but the city decided to reverse the river's flow to the Mississippi River to keep the Lake clean. To my knowledge, this is the only river in the world that has had its course reversed through a man-made project.

As I thought about this, I related it to events in my own life. I am putting forth some effort to make some changes in my life and it feels like I am trying to turn the course of a river.

There are physicists, geologist, and civil engineers who can probably explain these thoughts better (and tell me if I make any errors in this simile), but I think that in life we tend to be like rivers. If you pour water over an uneven and/or sloped surface, it will generally flow along the path of least resistance. On a large scale, like a continent, when water drains it will flow down the easiest path and eventually form brooks, streams, creeks, and eventually rivers. In my life, I think that my natural tendency is to take the path of least resistance also.

In rivers, the channels are cut deeper over time just as my own habits form patterns of routine. This isn't necessarily bad, rivers are a source of life. It is no accident that almost every major city in the world is on a river. However, sometimes a river's path needs to be changed. It is not an easy task, it is very daunting even to attempt because of the work and resources involved, but it can make the city a better, cleaner, and healthier place to live. I hope that my own efforts, with the help of prayers, can prove to be as fruitful.

Chicago Botanical Gardens

Since I've been off the last couple of week, I got a chance to see some places in Chicago I've been wanting to go to but haven't been able to as yet. A previous post showed some pictures from the Morton Arboretum. I also had a chance to tak emy first visit to the Botanical Gardens.

Here are a few pictures I liked, as well as some thoughts. This was one of my favorite views from the Japanese Walking Garden. I got pictures from several different angles, just depending on where the path went.


The prairie was another beautiful area. We saw some goldfinches in the field, but couldn't get pictures of them there (we did see them again later at a bird feeder).

I love flowers of all kinds. They remind me of fireworks, except they are much longer lasting and you can get much more creative with them.

Sometimes the contrasting colors just brings out the best in each of the varieties.

I saw a bee or two in some of the blooms. This may not have been one of them though.

Roses are so beautiful, aren't they?

I can't remember which garden this was. It may have been one of the English Walled gardens. I really enjoyed them. Mostly, I just liked this picture.

I like waterfalls and fountains too.
Both the Botanical Gardens and the Morton Arboretum recharged and refreshed me. It was wonderful just being outside and enjoying the beauty of nature. And the best part is I can go back in the Fall and it will be a brand new show!

Oran and Lucy

This last weekend Nate and I were able to go to Cincinnati to visit Gillian, Dan, Oran, and Lucy. We went to the zoo on Saturday, but mostly we spent the time at their apartment and played with the kids. However, going to the zoo did give Gillian a chance to try out her new stroller for the kids, and it looks like they liked it too.

Of course, by the end of the zoo they were pretty worn out.

Oran is such a sweetie. I really liked singing the ABCs with him. He knows them all, but I could only get him to say three of them in the song. He also likes the beginning of Cars, but it took him a while before we could get him to let us watch the whole thing. Here is a picture of him with his dad that I really like.

Lucy is 5 weeks old (I guess 6 now) and she feels so small in my arms, although she is growing. I loved watching her sleep and just hold her and watching her studying everything around her. I was taking some pictures of her sleeping, but she's starting to wake up in this one.

I was able to get a couple of pictures with both of them, although getting them to smile with me was a different story.

Nate was able to get Lucy to smile for him though.

Oran did smile later though. He is such a handsome boy, and I love his curly hair (although not enough to let mine grow out to curl).

Sleep

I have a lot of pics from the past weekend and the botanical garden, but I'm going to wait until I can sort through them to get the best ones. But I have had some thoughts the last couple of days about sleep.

I have often wondered if something was wrong with me because I don't really enjoy sleep or going to sleep. It's one of those necessary things that you have to do in life. A lot of times I am fighting to stay awake, for no real reason at all - like I'm a 4-year-old who wants to stay up past his bedtime. I love the quote by Lemony Snicket, "It is one of life's bitterest truths that bedtime so often arrives just when things are really getting interesting."

On my mission I had a companion who loved to sleep and stay in bed all morning on P-day. I was ready to get out of bed and get laundry started so we could get out of the house by nine so we could get our errands done by ten. I could never understand why he wanted to lay in bed all morning and not just get everything done for the day. This past Sunday afternoon, Nate and I were at Gillian and Dan's. About 2 pm, I realized I was the only one left awake, and I was tired from the day before, so I lay down for a nap along with everyone else. I shut my eyes and lay there for about 15 minutes, never falling asleep, but I was refreshed and recharged and everyone else was pretty much still out cold.

I love waking up in the morning at or before daybreak to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of a new day. You have a whole new day of possibilities and never know what might happen, even if your plan isn't really different from the day before.

At night, even if I'm tired, I still feel like there is more to learn out of the day and even if I don't get home until after 2, I still need to read a few pages or do a Sudoku or Crossword puzzle. If you notice, even though it has been a busy day, I'm still up at 1 getting some thoughts our while watching Olympic volleyball.

So, like most of my posts, this doesn't really have a point or a good conclusion (I'm working on those). But if someone can explain the joy of sleep to me, maybe I can begin to understand some of you.

Nature

Today I had an opportunity to go to the Morton Arboretum. It was nice to get away from downtown and experience a little nature.


They have several miles of paths around various wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. We didn't have nearly enough time to see it all, but Chris, Nate and I took about a 5 mile hike around one of the paths. It was a nice relaxing walk through the woods. It recharged my spirit, and reminded me I need to get out of the city more.

I'm sure this place is beautiful in the Spring when most of the flowers and trees are blooming, and also in the fall when the trees are turning different colors when losing their leaves. However, the beauty of summer is often underappreciated when compared to those seasons. (Winter too, although that's another post.)

Getting away from the trappings of the city provided an opportunity to appreciate the wonder of life and get a litle bit of quiet - we still had the highway nearby and some planes overhead that broke some of the peace.

Each time I go into a wooded area, I can't help but think of the First Vision of Joseph Smith. His testimony of the events that transpired there strengthens my own testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We didn't see many animals on the hike, except for a few insects. On the whole, the butterflies were much more welcome and pleasant than the mosquitos.

Anyway, it was a fun trip. If anyone wants to go visit, I'm more than willing to go back!

Climbing Wall

I love hearing the stories my sisters' tell about their kids. Miranda always mentions how her kids are always climbing and getting into things. So we were able to get some photographic evidence this weekend 0f just how skilled Brennen is.

I don't know why a dairy farm had a climbing wall, but it was pretty popular - especially with Brennen. Once he learned to look up instead of down, he was really able to scale up.

There were 4 faces, and he made it to the top of 3 of them (he didn't try the 4th, which was the most difficult). Here he is at the top ringing the bell.

Audrey and Will also tried. Will tried the hard face and almost made it. I'm sure next time he will make it.

Brennen

I love being an uncle. People watching is a fun pastime in general, but its really fun to watch my nieces and nephews play and just enjoy being alive - and Brennen is one of the most active kids I have ever seen. This weekend we went to a dairy farm and he was a lot of fun to watch.

First we got to see some newborn calves. This calf was less than an hour old.

Brennen liked seeing the calf for about a minute, then he was ready to go (we couldn't go and pet them, just watch). You could actually watch the calves being born (several were born each day), but mom was the only one who wanted to see it.

Brennen was most interested in some of the other activities on the farm - mostly the play area. They had tractors and trains to ride.

And I'm not the only one who enjoys watching Brennen play.

Tagged

Tagged - there goes my anonymity...

The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Write six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your blog entry is up.

Six Random things:

1. I love going barefoot anywhere
2. Like any true Cardinals fan, I believe the most underappreciated and underrated baseball player of all time was Stan Musial (except by Cardinals fans)
3. My favorite food is a Reuben
4. I have only played golf and gone whitewater rafting once in my life, but I really want to do both again (not at the same time - although that would be an interesting game)
5. I like flowers - I even took a floral arranging class at Purdue (Accounting majors will understand taking classes just for the credits)
6. My favorite novel is East of Eden
7. I have problems counting

Jessica, Matt, Laura, Kate, and Gillian - consider yourselves tagged.

Summer Games

When I was a kid, I remember lots of games my friend Justing and I used to play in the summer. One of our favorites was MacGyver - based on the TV show of the same name. Mostly we would run around the house and backyards and come up with impossible situations to get ourselves into, and then devise ridiculous ways to get out of said situation based on whatever we saw lying around - pine cones, grass, pens, legos, paper, whatever.

We also used to bike to the pool several times a week. I remember when I finally learned how to swim. It felt so good - although I'm not a strong swimmer, I still love being in or on the water. Justin and I went on a scout canoeing trip when we were a little older. Although we were both very enthusiastic, neither of us had very much experience at manuvering a canoe on the creek. We should have rethought things when we headed straight for a fallen tree as soon as we hit the water, but we quickly recovered and charged forward. But we soon fell behind the group (about 12 canoes in all) although our friend George and his dad hung back with us.

As it grew darker we hit another tree that had fallen across part of the creek. It was like a big magnet that pulled us straight towards it. We were quickly pinned underneath it and trying to get ourselves unstuck. George's dad rammed us trying to knock us free, but only succeeded in wedging us further underneath the trunk. By then night had fallen and we were stranded with only one canoe between us. The rest of the group had reached camp by then and were starting to get worried about us (especially my dad who was with them).

We left our unnecessary gear on the bank, and loaded up our canoe with the essential stuff, said a prayer, and headed downstream in the dark. I was lucky enough to be in the middle of the boat, and we sat very low in the water--the lip of the boat was an inch above the river. It felt like an eternity as we made it downstream, but eventually we saw some lanterns and flashlights of the rest of camp and made it safely ashore. Needless to say, Justin and I were split up the next day. In the daylight, some of the others were able to make it back upstream to save the canoe and our gear we left.

Since then, I have managed to become a better canoer (canoeist?). Now I feel in the mood to go!

All-Star

I am watching the All-Star game tonight and it has brought back many memories of the annual Mid-Summer classic. Growing up in the 80's, I always looked forward to two of my favorite players, Ozzie Smith and Ryne Sandberg, start as the NL double-play combination.

The first game I remember watching all the way through was in '87. I watched the whole game through the 9th inning, but, since I was only 10 at the time, my parents made me go to bed afterwards although the game was still a scoreless tie.

When I woke up in the morning, I raced down to check the box score in the paper and the write-up. It was a bittersweet moment as I saw that Tim Raines drove in the winning runs with a triple in the 12th inning. I was happy that the National League won, but Tim Raines was one of my least liked players because he was the main competition for my favorite player, Vince Coleman, in stolen bases.

I remember a few other big moments since then, Bo Jackson's homer, Cal Ripkin winning the MVP, but most of them have been AL highlights. As the game continues tonight, into extra innings, games don't seem as important to me. I think some of the players from my childhood loom larger in legend. It was wonderful to see the introductions with all of the Hall-of-Famers, including Ozzie and Rhyno. And I will tell my children some day about seeing futer Hall-of-Famers Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and especially Albert Pujols.

Raconteuring

Well before I learned what the word meant, I always wanted to be a better raconteur. I love history, and a big part of history is the oral tradition that comes from good stories. I have often wondered in some of the old stories and legends - Beowulf, King Arthur, Gilgamesh - how much truth remains.

Anyway, I'm not much of a raconteur, but I enjoy it - and I hope to become a better one. This blog is the story of my life - past, present, whatever - and other stories I find interesting. They may not come across as that exciting, but sometimes that the fun in it. There is joy orexcitement in every moment, if you know where to look.